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My people are exiled,

Exiled for lack of knowledge,

Their nobles are dying of hunger,
The populace parched with thirst.
Therefore the abode of the dead
Increases its ravenous appetite,
And opens its mouth insatiable.
Zion's nobles and rabble go down,
And their pomp and all who rejoice in it.
Lambs shall there find pasture,

And kids feed amid the ruins.

Ah! they who draw guilt on themselves with cords of folly,

And the punishment of their sin as with wagon rope!
Who say, 'Let him hasten his work, that we may see it;
Let the purpose of Israel's Holy One draw nigh,
And at last be realized, that we may know it!'

Ah! they who call evil good, and good evil,
Who make darkness light, and light darkness,
Who make bitter sweet, and sweet bitter!

Ah! they who are wise in their own eyes,
And in their own sight prudent!

Ah! they who are mighty in guzzling wine,
And valiant in mixing strong drinks!
Those who for a bribe acquit the guilty,
Who deprive of his right the innocent!

Therefore as flame consumes stubble,
And as hay falls to ash in the flame,
So their root shall become as rottenness,

And their blossom blow off as dust;

For they have despised the teaching of Jehovah of hosts, And scorned the word of Israel's Holy One.

174. THE PENALTY FOR SEEKING ONLY MATERIAL WEALTH AND POMP

Go into the caves of the rock,
Hide yourselves in dusty holes
From the terror of Jehovah,
Away from his glorious majesty,
When he rises to terrify the earth!
For Jehovah has cast off his people,
Abandoned the household of Jacob;
For their land is full of traffickers,
And they bargain with foreigners;
So their land is full of riches,

And there is no end to their treasures.
Their land is full of horses,

And there is no end to their chariots.

Their land is full of idols,

And they worship the work of their hands,
Even that which their fingers have made.
But human pride shall sink low,

And men's loftiness shall be abased,
And Jehovah alone be exalted

On that day.

Go into the caves of the rock,
Hide yourselves in dusty holes
From the terror of Jehovah,
Away from his glorious majesty,
For Jehovah of hosts has a judgment day
Upon everything proud and lofty,

Upon everything high and uplifted,
Upon all the cedars of Lebanon,
And all the oaks of Bashan;
Upon all the towering mountains,
And all the lofty hills;
Upon every lordly tower,

And against every fortified wall;
Upon all the ships of Tarshish,

And all the stately vessels.

So human pride shall sink low,

1 And men's loftiness shall be abased; And Jehovah alone be exalted,

But the idols shall one and all vanish.

Because Zion's daughters are haughty,
And walk with outstretched neck,
Casting their wanton glances,

· Tripping along as they go,

And shaking the bangles on their feet,
The Lord will afflict with a scab
The scalps of the women of Zion,
And Jehovah will bare their shame.
Instead of perfume shall be rottenness,
Instead of a girdle, a rope,

Instead of curled hair, baldness,
Instead of rich clothing, sackcloth.

Your men shall fall by the sword,
And your valiant warriors in battle.
Zion's gates shall languish and mourn,
She shall sit on the ground despoiled.

Seven women shall take hold
Of a single man on that day,

Saying, 'We will eat our own bread,

We too will provide our own garments,

Only let us bear your name;

Oh, take away our disgrace!'

175. THE FATE OF THE DEFIANT EXPLOITERS OF THE

PEOPLE

The Lord sends doom on Jacob,

And it shall fall upon Israel,

And all the people shall know it,

Ephraim, and Samaria's inhabitants,

Who say in their pride and arrogance:
'The bricks have fallen down,

But we will rebuild with hewn stone;
Sycomores have been cut down,

But with cedars we will replace them.'
So Jehovah has stirred up their enemies,
And spurred on their foes against them.
On the east the Arameans,

And on the west the Philistines,
Greedily devouring Israel.

Yet his anger is not turned away,

But his hand is stretched out still.

The people turned not to him who smote them,
Nor sought favor from the Lord of hosts;
So he cut off from Israel head and tail,
Palm-branch and reed in a single day.
The elder and the dignitary are the head,
And the lying prophet the tail.

The guides of this people mislead them,
And those whom they lead are destroyed;
So the Lord spares not their choice youth,
Nor pities their orphans and widows,
For all are godless and wicked,
And every mouth speaks impiety.
Yet his anger is not turned away,
But his hand is stretched out still.

For their wickedness burns like a fire
Which consumes both briers and thorns,
And kindles in forest thickets,

Till they roll up in columns of smoke.
Through Jehovah's wrath the land is ablaze,
And the people, too, are food for the flames.

No one has pity on his fellows;

On the right they cut slices, and yet are hungry, On the left they devour, and yet are not satisfied. Each one eats up the other's flesh,

Manasseh Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh,
And both together fall upon Judah.

Yet God's anger is not turned away,
But his hand is stretched out still.

Ah! they who issue iniquitous laws,
The scribblers who only register trouble,
That they may deprive the helpless of justice,
And rob my afflicted ones of their right,

That widows may become their spoil,

And that they may make even orphans their prey! What will you do on the judgment day,

In the storm which shall come from afar?

To whom will you flee for help,

And where will you leave your wealth,
To avoid crouching under the captives,
And falling under the slain?

Yet his anger is not turned away,
But his hand is stretched out still.

He will raise a signal to a distant nation,
And summon it from the end of the earth.
See! quickly, swiftly it will come.

Not one is weary or stumbles,

Not a girdle on their loins is loosed,

Not a thong on their sandals snaps.
Their arrows are sharpened,

Their bows are all bent;

Their horses' hoofs are as flint,

And their wheels are like the whirlwind.

Their roar is like that of a lioness,

Like young lions they roar and growl.

They seize the prey and escape,

And there is none to deliver!

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